


a much needed conversation

by wellfuckallthegoodnamesaretaken



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Conversations, Bisexual Percy Jackson, F/M, Forgiveness, Gay Nico di Angelo, Its just them talking really, Kinda, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson Friendship, Out of Character, Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), STOP WITH THE NOT UR TYPE JOKES THEYRE NOT FUNNY, au where percy knew abt nicos crush and also had a crush on luke, canon cant stop me cause i cant read, he made mistakes yea but he cares abt nico, its prob not canon compliant lmao, its prob ooc but, literally im only writing bc im tired of yall treating my boy percy like hes a five year old, my friend borrowed my copy of boo and didnt give it back, percico is tagged but its not percico tho they just become good friends, percy is not stupid yall, percy isnt an asshole and hes not dumb stop treating him like that smh, so heres 2k words of him being Good At Feelings and nico being Confusion, so i dont care, so im writing this based on memory, still more in character than some things ive seen, stop treating percy like a villain in solangelo fics or ill steal ur fingerbones, the only characters are nico and percy, the others are just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-25 23:57:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18712318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellfuckallthegoodnamesaretaken/pseuds/wellfuckallthegoodnamesaretaken
Summary: Percy find Nico after he confesses. They talk it out. Secrets are revealed and a new understanding is reached, cause they both respect eachother and are not idiots.Or; the missing scene we all needed tbh. Now featuring: Bi Percy and Confused Nico.OR or; me crawling out of my well after several years of not being active in this fandom to shame everyone for characterizing Percy like That.





	a much needed conversation

**Author's Note:**

> listen... listen. percy is a Smart Boy and y'all need to Stop It. 
> 
> anyway i love these two and wanted them to talk it out, and also wanted percy to acknowledge his mistakes and have nico still forgive him so. here.
> 
> This is not a percico fic, sorry.  
> Also i like the idea of bi percy having a crush on luke so... here

That night, after the confession, Percy found him by the beach. 

He was sitting on a large rock, skinny arms clutching his knees against his chest, the wind whipping his dark hair around his face, sunken, tired eyes staring out at the rolling waves crashing onto the shore. His jacket was wrapped tightly around him to protect him from the cold. It was several sizes too big for him, and it made him look even smaller, even thinner, even more frail than he already was. His skin was so pale it almost glowed in the dim moonlight, white and colorless as a corpse. He looked like he was going to pass out at any moment. 

Despite this, Nico looked better than Percy had seen him in years.

He’d guess it was because he finally had friends, finally was a part of something. Or maybe it was the relief of finally getting his feeling off his chest and out in the open. Or maybe it was Will Solace.

It was probably Will Solace. 

Percy didn’t say anything, instead just silently sitting down next to Nico. Close but not too close. He felt more than he saw the way Nico tensed at his presence, resolutely not looking at him, but he chose not to comment on it, instead simply watching the churning sea and letting his body relax as he studied its familiar motions. The sea was restless tonight.

For a while they just sat there together, watching the waves in silence. Percy lounged effortlessly against the rock. Nico remained tense for a long time, but slowly, ever so slowly, he started relaxing as well, realizing Percy wasn’t going to invade his space or make a big deal out of it. The previously uncomfortable silence became something a bit more tolerable, not comfortable, but not painfully awkward anymore. 

Finally, Percy broke it. 

“I’m sorry.”

Nico startled, whipping his head around to stare at Percy, dark eyes wide with shock. Whatever he’d been expecting, this clearly wasn’t it, and Percy could tell he’d caught him off guard.

“What?” His voice was barely above a whisper. Percy didn’t look at Nico, still staring out towards the horizon, feeling the wind against his face and in his hair. 

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, “I let you down again, and I’m sorry.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Nico snapped. “You’re sorry for what? For not noticing my big, stupid crush on you? For acting weird about it? For being shocked that I could possibly be-“

“I did know.” Percy interrupted him, voice calm. “I knew, and I didn’t do anything about it because I was a coward. I saw you were struggling and did nothing. I let you suffer in silence rather than trying to help you, and I’ve regretted it every day since I met you.” 

“You knew?” he whispered, “What do you mean since you met me?”

“I’m not as stupid as people think,” he paused, thinking for a moment. “Well, I’m pretty stupid. I’m almost that stupid, but not quite stupid enough not to notice the way you’d look at me when you thought I couldn’t see you.”

Nico stared at him with something like horror. Percy could almost hear the unspoken question and answered before he could voice it. 

“No. No one else knew. You were pretty good at hiding it, all things considered, honestly.”

Nico relaxed a bit at that. “You’re not actually stupid. I keep forgetting that.” He glanced at Percy, “You do that on purpose don’t you?”

“Do what?”

“Play dumb. You allow people to underestimate you, no, you make them underestimate you, intentionally.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Percy said airily, but there was a small smirk tugging at his lips. “I am stupid. Remember that time I ate a burrito out of a trash can?”

Nico shuddered at the memory, pulling a face. “It was horrifying. I still see it in my nightmares.”

Percy laughed, and even Nico had to suppress a smile. He quickly shook himself and got serious again. 

“So, you’re okay with it? With me being…” He hesitated, stumbling over the word, “With me being gay? Wait, if you knew about it, then why were you so shocked when I told you?”

“I was shocked cause I didn’t expect you to just… say it. After so many years of you hiding it, I almost thought you were gonna take it to your grave.” He snorted. “Sorry, bad pun. But yeah, I should’ve done better. My bad.” 

Nico’s eyebrows rose. “You keep saying that.” 

“Because it’s true. I saw that you had a crush on me, but I also saw how much you were struggling with it. Internalized homophobia is a bitch, and I shouldn’t have let you suffer alone. I could have reached out, could’ve offered support or just generally tried to show you that there’s nothing wrong with being gay. But I didn’t.” He sighed heavily. “I made excuses for it. Tried to convince myself I was doing it for your sake, that I didn’t want to put you on the spot, or make you feel uncomfortable. That it was better to just let you figure it out yourself. I was a coward, and I can’t do anything but say how sorry I am. I should’ve tried to help.” 

Percy turned his head, looking at Nico for the first time. “You deserve that. You deserve so much better.” 

Nico stared, speechless. He blinked a few times. Then, his eyes narrowed. “And what would you know about that? What makes you think you’d know how to help? What do you know about loving someone, even when it makes you sick?”

“More than you’d think,” Percy said softly. His eyes were distant. He blinked a few times, swallowing heavily before focusing on Nico again. “Do you remember Luke?”

“The guy who resurrected Kronos and almost killed us all?” Nico asked skeptically. 

“Yeah. You only knew him when he was evil and stuff, but he used to be nice. He was… He was my first friend at camp, besides Grover of course. He taught me how to fight. He treated me kindly when no one else did, welcomed me to the camp. I looked up to him, I admired him, I…”

“You loved him,” Nico said quietly, wide eyes filled with a new kind of understanding.

“Don’t know if I’d call it love.” Percy chuckled, a tired, hollow sound. “I had a crush on him, that much I know for sure. He had these beautiful blue eyes.” He sighed. “After my first quest he asked me to come with him into the woods. Alone. He’d smuggled in a six-pack of coke and said he wanted to share it with me. Just the two of us. I’d hoped- “He broke off, took a deep breath. “It was a ploy to get me alone so he could kill me.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah… Even after that, I still liked him for a long time. I hated it, he tried to kill me, he had killed many of my fellow campers, my friends, but I still couldn’t… I don’t know. It’s difficult to get over a crush, even if he did poison you, ya know?”

“But,” Nico began, looking confused “If you’re also gay, then… What about Annabeth?”

“Annabeth,” Percy sighed, a lovestruck smile on his face. “She didn’t like me at first, for many reasons. One of them being that she was also in love with Luke. She must’ve picked up on my stupid crush, she’s super smart so of course she’d know, and figured it was just another thing to add to her “List of reasons why Percy sucks.” It gave us something to bond over though, once his betrayal was revealed. We never really said it outright but… Sometimes you don’t need to.” He shrugged. “Eventually we both got over him and fell in love with each other instead. Although, I got over him faster. She’d known him for a lot longer after all.” 

Nico’s confusion had not lessened. If anything, he seemed even more bewildered. “I thought you said you were gay? How are you dating a girl then?”

“Oh!” Percy said, understanding finally dawning on him. “That’s right. You’re from the 30’s. You wouldn’t know much about these kinds of things.” He ran a hand through his messy hair. “Shit, I’m really not the best person to explain this but… Here goes nothing,” he muttered. 

He took a deep breath. “I’m bisexual,” he explained. “It means I like girls and boys.” He paused. “Well, I suppose more accurately it means I like my own gender and other genders, but I really don’t feel qualified to explain nonbinary genders to you. You should ask the Iris cabin for more information, really.” He stopped, then quickly added, “Not that, you know, you can ask me if you want, that’s fine – I just – you should- I’m not saying you can’t, I just,” he stuttered out. Percy cringed at his own awkwardness, looking over at Nico worriedly. 

Nico was staring at him, eyes wide as saucers. “You can like boys and girls?” He asked, looking starstruck. 

“Of course,” Percy said. “Do you like girls as well?”

“I…” Nico thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “No. Just boys.” 

“That’s fine,” Percy said, smiling at him. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone, despite what my previous actions might have you believe. I’m really sorry about that.”

Nico looked down, glaring at his feet. “You knew what I was going through and you didn’t even try to help me.” 

“I know.” 

“You let me down again.”

“Yes.”

Nico bit his lip, fiddling with his jacket sleeve. He seemed to be contemplating something. Finally, he nodded to himself, having reached a conclusion. 

“I forgive you.”

Percy startled, and this time, he was the shocked one. 

“Wait, really? You don’t have to, that’s not why I’m doing this, you know? I’m not looking for forgiveness or anything. I just wanted to apologize. Not because it makes me feel better, but because you deserve to hear it. You deserve so much better. Even outside of this whole…” He vaguely gestured between them, “romance thing, I’ve been real shitty to you for a long time.” 

“I know. It’s okay. Or, well… It’s not okay, but I forgive you anyway.”

“Oh… Thank you, I don’t really deserve that, but-” He smiled crookedly. “I think it’s good that you’re not holding so many grudges anymore. It can really fuck up your brain.”

Percy looked down for a moment, then back up again with a determined look. 

“I’m going to be better. I promise you that. I can’t promise I’ll never make mistakes like this again, I probably will, I make a lot of mistakes, but I promise you I’ll try harder and be a better friend.” He locked eyes with Nico, speaking clearly. “I swear on the river Styx; I’ll be a better friend to you Nico.” There was a crack like distant thunder as the oath was sealed. 

Nico stared at him, his expression unreadable. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Percy shrugged, mischief sparkling in his eyes. “You didn’t have to forgive me.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Nico’s mouth. “You’re an idiot,” he said fondly. Percy grinned.

“Hey,” he said, “I get the whole “not your type thing” by the way. You’re not really my type either. Bright eyed blondes with a passion for what they do is where it’s at, am I right?”

Nico’s face flushed, resolutely not looking at Percy.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered. 

“Oh, come on,” Percy said, “Will Solace is a nice choice, he’s cute and he’s good for you. You deserve each other, truly. Plus,” he added, a shit-eating grin on his face, “he’s got a nice ass.”

Nico pushed him off the rock. Percy’s laughter rang out through the night. They were going to be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> woof that was... something
> 
> i had a lot more i wanted to write but it kinda got away from me and this was the most natural place to end
> 
> hope u enjoyed @ all the two people who will read this


End file.
